A Life Now
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 1670b: Now with her role in Kurt Hummel's new musical, Chloe's life has changed so much since the day she met her idol Rachel Berry. - Red series


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 79th cycle. Now cycle 80!_

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**"A Life Now"  
(Older) Rachel, Chloe (OC), Sophie (OC), (Older) Kurt  
Red series  
_(no listings yet; sequel to 'One Moment in Time')_  
**

It had now been months since that day in the coffee shop, when Chloe had learned she'd gotten the part Kurt Hummel had wanted her to audition for, and as much as it felt like she kept saying it, there was no other way to be truthful about it than to say that she couldn't believe how much her life had changed.

It had taken an hour before she'd been able to speak intelligibly enough in order to call home to her parents and give her the news. In the time in between, Sophie had called her mother – Rachel already knew, and she'd been using all amounts of self-control not to give her the news herself, but now it was out so she was on her way to join them – and George, who had not been told what for, only to show up at the coffee shop. When he arrived, Chloe managed to tell him, and he caught her up in his arms.

After she'd told her parents, Chloe had finally been able to call her friends and tell them the news, both her workshop friends and those she'd left back in Indiana. The first group was at once ecstatic and shocked that she hadn't told them until that day, while the other was evidently happy for her, even though it meant she'd be leaving them for good.

In the weeks that followed, the hunt for a new house for the Clarkes began, while back in Indiana the old house had been put up for sale. The search had become a frustrating one for a while, and Chloe had feared that her parents would be forced to leave behind their home of so many years in favor of something they'd been forced to settle for. But in the end, in what felt like an eleventh hour find, they'd come upon what would eventually become The House. It was not exactly next door to Rachel and Sophie, but it was good, and, per Sophie's promise, an easy commute. Both she and her mother had made it very clear that they intended to keep the Clarkes in their lives, and Chloe was more than happy to oblige.

Before long, she'd made the trip back to Indiana to help pack up the rest of her things, everything she'd left behind before heading to New York for her workshop summer, and she'd made the drive again, with her parents. It was right that she should have returned one more time. She got to say goodbye to the people and the places that had made her who she was. She might have been 'made for New York,' but she was from Indiana, and that would never change, nor did she want it to.

It felt good, being back under the same roof as her parents. In a way, their having moved up with her, all of them settling into the new house, it felt like a new beginning, a fresh start after the shadow of Chloe's search for her birth father had left them. There were no more lies among them, and all the support she'd had before, whether she'd realized it or not, had been increased many times over. And when it had come about that her mother announced she was expecting, it had been the cherry on top.

It had not been all easy victories, of course. Her father had struggled at first in finding a new job, while her mother's new pregnancy had not been smooth sailing. With time she had gotten better, though she would need to take things easy until the birth, and after a few near misses, her father had finally gotten work, reassuring Chloe that they were really, finally, starting things, not just settling in anymore.

As for Chloe herself, though she did have the musical to look forward to, she still insisted on getting a job, which had been dealt with easily. The coffee shop had been the place of so many of her life's changes, and she so happened to have an in there, thanks to Julian. Between this job, and the musical, and school, and her family and friends and George, she would be busy, but that was how she wanted it.

The musical had felt a lot like her first days in the workshop in the beginning. She was battling her nerves, but had confidence, and though this was an entirely new level, far ahead of everything she'd ever gone through, she had fought so hard to make it to where she was, and she would adapt and grow, in any way she had to. Kurt Hummel, her valiant director, would not give her any special treatment because of how he'd come upon her, or who she knew, and she didn't want him to. She had earned her place, as well as anyone.

And it wasn't all about the trials and tribulations, the hardships, and the aches, no… As much as she had to remain aware of those, deep down, for Chloe, this was the culmination of a lifelong dream. Everything they did, anything from costume fittings up to rehearsals, she went in with a smile on her face… This was where she'd always belonged, and now she was here. She knew how lucky she was, to have made it at the age she had, and she wouldn't spoil it by getting ahead of herself or taking it for granted. She had worked hard, yes, but she had to keep working hard.

From day one, she had her idol there, her mentor, Rachel Berry… How long had she wanted to be like her, to do what she did… Now that she was here, she knew more, knew better… She wanted to do what Rachel did, yes, but she didn't want to _be_ her. She was going to be herself, Chloe Clarke, Chloe from Indiana, Chloe with the curls… She would become everything she'd ever wanted to be, and maybe someday there would be a young girl somewhere, anywhere, with dreams of her own, who would look up to her.

THE END

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**____********A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
************always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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